The Walla Walla Emergency Management Citizen Alert system is able to alert residents about severe weather, fires, floods, toxic environmental issues, radiological events and other emergencies. Messages can be sent to residents on any communication path desired – cell phone, home phone, email, text messaging, fax, pager, PDA and more – ensuring that residents receive life-saving emergency information and important public service announcements in minutes. Citizens listed in the County’s white pages landline phone database are automatically subscribed to emergency alerts by phone. Citizens may also self-register their cell phone, VOIP phone, email, text message device, fax, and pager.

Sign up for the Walla Walla Emergency Management Citizen Alert system by clicking on the icon below:

Volunteers are needed to staff Walla Walla’s 2014-15 Warming Center for unsheltered persons. Due to extremely cold temperatures the valley has already experienced this year, an informal warming center has opened twice now to date. Nonetheless, the center will officially open when temperatures are extremely cold, December 15, 2014 through February 28, 2015. This means the center could potentially be open during the holidays; however, notification of an opening will occur three days prior to an extreme weather forecast.

All volunteers are required to participate in a two hour training and the first one is scheduled for Thursday, December 11, 2014, 6:00-8:00 PM andwill be hosted by First Congregational Church, 73 S. Palouse, Walla Walla. Those who have already signed up to volunteer as well as anyone interested in being a warming center volunteer should participate. In addition, persons with a current First Aid or CPR card are strongly urged to volunteer (although this latter training is not mandatory). Furthermore, volunteers will be required to work a three hour shift between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM, when the center is operating.

Can’t volunteer, but still want to help? Make a “warming center” donation to First Congregational Church, 73 S. Palouse, Walla Walla, WA 99362, or to United Way of Walla Walla County, P.O. Box 1135, 29 E. Sumach, Walla Walla, WA 99362.

Thanks in advance for your care and concern!

Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Ebola Webpage

DOH now has an Ebola webpage with information about the virus and what public health and medical services are doing to be prepared. A few things you can find on the webpage include a fact sheet on Ebola translated into 7 different languages, an infographic from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to print and share, as well as a link to more on Ebola and the national situation from the CDC.

Emergency Preparedness Active Shooter Video

After the July 2012 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., the city of Houston's Public Safety Office released a how-to video on surviving a shooter event. You may access the video by clicking on the image below:

Walla Walla County is the first county in the Pendleton Weather Service coverage area within the State of Washington to receive this designation. Significant effort goes into obtaining the designation. Eligibility requirements include establishment of a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center, having more than one method of receiving severe weather information and alerting the public, creating a system that monitors local weather conditions and developing a formal hazardous weather plan.

Weather Radio

Get weather reports, forecasts and weather warnings through NOAA weather radio. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration broadcasts weather information on several frequencies in our area. The signals may be received by a weather radio, which can be purchased at most electronics stores for $30-60. When severe weather approaches, the radio will sound an alarm and activate an audio message about the weather. See the NOAA Weather Radio web site.